Oman TV celebrates 50th anniversary
Muscat: The Ministry of Information, represented by the Sultanate of Oman TV, will celebrate tomorrow the 50th anniversary of the start of broadcasting of the Sultanate of Oman TV, which fell on November 17, 1974. It is an important historical milestone in the journey of Omani media and reflects the interest that the Sultanate of Oman has given to this sector since the beginning of the blessed renaissance.
Over the course of fifty years, Oman TV has been able to play a pivotal role in the local and Arab media scene, and has succeeded in consolidating its role as a national media institution thanks to its strategic orientations in developing content and technologies and enhancing its role as a media platform that reflects the vision of the Sultanate of Oman towards a brighter and more developed future.
Oman TV began its journey four years after the start of the Omani Renaissance led by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said (may God bless his soul) to become a media window that conveys Oman’s voice and vision to the world, reflects the cultural, social and political identity, enhances communication with the people of the nation and supports their participation in construction and development.
Over the past five decades, Oman TV has witnessed major transformations in content and technology, and has gone through different stages of development, to keep pace with technological changes, and to play major roles in transmitting events and enhancing national awareness. The first steps of the Sultanate of Oman TV began with limited broadcasting in Muscat and some neighboring areas using simple devices through which the TV presented local news bulletins, the Sultan’s speeches, and educational programs to introduce modern concepts of the Omani Renaissance.
Over the past fifty years, it has gone through major stages following the founding phase, which is the expansion phase that extended for ten years since 1980 AD, during which the broadcast network was expanded to cover most of the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman. The content was also developed to provide educational and entertainment programs, and the infrastructure of the transmission network was developed.
In 1990, the digital transformation phase began using digital broadcasting technologies to enhance the quality of image and sound, as the world entered the era of globalization.
The Sultanate of Oman TV worked to improve the quality of production, by launching talk shows covering political, economic and social issues. Oman TV continued its development journey through the satellite broadcasting phase, which enabled its channels to reach all parts of the world, while specialized channels were launched, such as Oman Culture and Oman Live, which allowed for the diversity of content to include news, culture, sports, and live coverage of official events, as the number of broadcast hours exceeded 100,000 broadcast hours annually, including various types of programs.
Since the establishment of the Sultanate of Oman TV, it has played and continues to play a role in strengthening the national identity by broadcasting programs that focus on Oman’s heritage and ancient history. It has carried out its mission in transmitting major national events and lofty speeches that have enhanced the spirit of national belonging and linked the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman together. It has also contributed to spreading community awareness through its awareness programs, supporting local artistic production through Omani drama and entertainment programs, and spreading Omani culture and heritage through documentaries and coverage of heritage festivals, in addition to its digital presence on social media platforms, which has helped reach a wider segment of the public.
His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al Harrasi, Minister of Information, confirmed in an interview with Youth Radio that the Sultanate of Oman TV has kept pace with all stages of development in the long journey of the development of Omani media and has played a great role in educating and enlightening the Omani people and spreading awareness, developing art and entertainment, broadcasting events in various fields, establishing specialized channels such as the sports channel and the cultural channel, and finally developing electronic platforms.
